Shakespeare's Sonnets for Modern Times: A Goodly Creation

Among the giants of English literary history, Shakespeare is head and shoulders above the rest for his creativity, craftsmanship and masterful use of language. Beside his well-known plays are more than 150 sonnets collected into a sequence published in 1609.

This 14-line poetic form tradtionally addresses themes of love and beauty in an idealized or metaphorical way, but Shakespeare introduced material that confonts the human experience of love as it truly is: erotic, erratic and often tragic.

Though never intended as a theatrical script per se, the sonnets have internal voices that lend themselves to dialogue, and a continuity of subject matter that offers many adaptations to a plot. It's these qualities that make "Goodly Creatures: A Review of Shakespeare's Sonnets for Modern Times" viable as a staged production.

Created by company founder and director Katrina Syrris, "Goodly Creatures" uses the original text of twelve sonnets to construct a layered and interconnected story of three couples and two singles in various stages of relationship. In each of the twelve short scenes, the action, costume and a few choice props establish context and story lines that illuminate the Elizabethan period language.

Amaria Von Dran and Cam Tucker perform Sonnet 145 in "Goodly Creatures: A Review of Shakespeare's Sonnets for Modern Times."

Incredibly, the cast is able to portray complex modern situations involving childless same-sex couples, adultery, bedroom politics, and perhaps even suicide. Shakespeare's dense and often opaque turns of phrase become clear through the sharp direction and careful acting of this highly original piece.

Thoughtful sound and lighting design and a minimal set reinforce the idea that stories such as these happen in every time and place, as the 400 year old language speaks of universal truths to adults of any century, age or gender.

Borrowing a creative device from the form itself, the final scene reinforces the enduring primacy of Love like the closing couplet of an ingenious sonnet.

"Goodly Creatures" continues Thursday through Sunday until July 15th at the Elgin Art Showcase and runs for two more weeks at Stage 773 in Chicago. Come early to get a front row seat, as you'll want to hear every word. For tickets and more information, go to goodlycreatures.com

Janus Theatre Company Takes It to the Street

The boutique, the cafe, and the apartment are wonderful settings in which to enjoy scenes from Shakespeare, but the sounds — and smells — of a downtown Elgin alley are what make this progressive performance so great. Sure, we appreciate the Bard's timeless plot material and his exquisite use of language, but how often can you experience his plays as many of his contemporaries did: in a crowded, noisy, gritty open-air theater?

Janus Theatre Company reprised its "Walkabout: Theatre on your Feet" program for an eighth year Friday, as part of its Elgin 400 Shakespeare Festival, which brings a series of performances and workshops to downtown Elgin to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the playwright's death. Four scenes from four different comedic plays were staged in four venues – an apartment at Elgin Artspace Lofts, Mural Alley, Soulful Sparrow, and the Blue Box Cafe — for small audiences leaving on foot every twenty minutes from Elgin Public House, and ending at Al's Cafe.

Paula Smiech and Molly Wagner of Janus Theatre Company

play a scene from The Merchant of Venice at Soulful Sparrow.

Each vignette, played at audience floor level by actors in plain clothes, showcased the wit of these classic scripts which still outshine any artists' mere performance of them. Yet in Janus' signature style, the closeup, even face-to-face delivery shifted the power to the actors' expressions and body language. Surprisingly raw, physical moments of action were a potent reminder that Shakespearean theatre is not safe for snobs.

Moving in and around the audience, ad-libbing local references, improvising props from anywhere in the room, the cast (superbly directed by Sean Hargadon) gave vivid life to characters conceived centuries ago. The only price of this compelling realism was a few syllables lost to modern-day tempo and diction: as a playwright and a poet, Shakespeare did not waste words. 

"Theatre on your Feet" continues Saturday at 2PM and 7PM, with tickets available at janusplays.com.  The weather forecast is perfect, and the transit schedules suggest you will enjoy engine noise, exhaust fumes and random pedestrian entrances during scenes from Twelfth Night.

Wonder's Shakespeare: "A Hero on a Budget"

A playwright performs an improvised play in an improvised theater, about a playwright who works in an improvised theater. The circular references follow the millings of Nathan Wonder as a modern-day Shakespeare whose career is circling the drain.

The longer of its two titles is more descriptive: William Shakespeare Lives or William Shakespeare, a 30 year-old playwright who lives in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood, has just opened his new play, Titus Andronicus, and it was not well-received; a comedy in three acts.

But "Shakespeare" is more like a prop than a character in this one-man show, serving as a gravitational center for a series of rants, reflections and beer-soaked introspections. Theatre insiders can relate to the narrative, and anyone can appreciate its universal message: we are in love with Possibility, and all our self-loathing is just frustration at being unable to rewrite the Past.

Seasoned by scholarship and spiked with vulgarity, William Shakespeare Lives is a saucy comedic monologue that approaches Man's classic internal conflicts armed with PBR, TV reruns, and a sublime desire to connect.

Repeat performances are July 16th at 8PM and July 17th at 3PM at the Elgin Art Showcase. Tickets are available at janusplays.com.